Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Aru Islands or Aroe Islands both: äˈro͞o [key], group of about 95 low-lying islands, 3,306 sq mi (8,563 sq km), E Indonesia, in the Moluccas, in the Arafura Sea, SW of New Guinea. The largest islan...

(Encyclopedia) Pelias pēˈlēăs [key], in Greek mythology, usurper of the throne of Iolcus. He was the son of Tyro and Poseidon and the twin brother of Neleus. After his birth his mother married Cretheus, king of ...

(Encyclopedia) Deledda, Grazia gräˈtsēä dālĕdˈdä [key], 1875–1936, Italian novelist, b. Sardinia. Her first work, a collection of short stories, was published when she was 19. She was awarded the Nobel Pri...

(Encyclopedia) descent, in anthropology, method of classifying individuals in terms of their various kinship connections. Matrilineal and patrilineal descent refer to the mother's or father's sib (or other group), r...

(Encyclopedia) Draga dräˈgä [key], 1867–1903, queen consort of King Alexander of Serbia. A widow and a lady in waiting to the king's mother, Draga Mašin (Mashin) was accused by general rumor of a shady and pro...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander Severus (Marcus Aurelius Alexander Severus) sĭvērˈəs [key], d. 235, Roman emperor (222–35), b. Syria. His name was changed (221) from Alexius Bassianus when he was adopted as the succe...

(Encyclopedia) Canning, Charles John Canning, Earl, 1812–62, British statesman; third son of George Canning. Succeeding to the peerage conferred on his mother, he took his seat as Viscount Canning in the House of ...

(Encyclopedia) Ino īˈnō [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Cadmus. She was the wife of Athamas, to whom she bore Learchus and Melicertes. She plotted to kill her stepchildren, Phrixus and Helle, but their mot...

(Encyclopedia) Cornelia kôrnēlˈyə [key], fl. 2d cent. b.c., Roman matron, daughter of Scipio Africanus Major. She was the wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and mother of the Gracchi. She refused to remarry af...

(Encyclopedia) Cornplanter, c.1740–1836, chief of the Seneca. The son of a Native American mother and a white father, he acquired great influence among the Seneca and in the American Revolution led war parties for...